HOW ARE WE GOING TO FIND MORE TIME TO READ IN 2026?

That was a question I asked my readers recently, and I received many good tips about how they do it now (including a couple humorous ones):

"Going to walk more to listen to my books, and when weather is bad, read while on my bike inside. More motivation to workout with my books."

"I have discovered that I need to read 1st thing when I wake up. Even if it is 2 pages, this keeps my kindle record per day up (because sometimes I go to bed too late to have it count the same day). And reading helps me fall asleep. I do enjoy my kindle for the portability. And still get a few physical books in, too..."

"I leave 30 minutes early to wait in line to pick up my grandson from school. Perfect reading in a quiet car all by myself."

"Take a relaxing bath with a book instead of a shower."

"I’ve already booked 3 weekends for camping. I’m planning on booking more as dates are available. I read while everyone else is doing whatever they want. No one bothers me, unlike at home!"

"I go into my car to get away from distractions and lie down in the back seat; I find it to be very relaxing. And my dog enjoys sleeping in my car while I'm in there reading." [I related in a slightly different way to this, because sometimes when I'm on deadline and the pet children are too distracting (I have six), I write in my car IN the driveway.]

"Honestly? I avoid everything else and read."

"Even while working full time, I try to read as much as I possibly can. I don't really have reading goals. I just desperately need to escape reality as often as possible, lol."

"I read wherever and whenever I can. I always have my phone (cell phone) with me and have multiple ebooks loaded on that." 

This last response is what I do; I carry a print book, iPad, or notebook/pen wherever I go, so I can make use of any single spare minute to jump back into a book or write. When I did an appearance on the After Dark Social Club, I shared my best "taking-any-opportunity-to-read-or-write" anecdote:

One night when I was driving home from visiting my aunt, I was passing through the tiny town of Chadbourne, North Carolina. They have a serious speed trap in Chadbourne, and I fell right into it, so I was pulled by a pair of cute young police officers. When they returned to their car to process my info, since I was in the middle of the final proof on a book-in-process, I picked up my iPad.

About ten minutes later (maybe longer, I lost track), I hear a throat clearing and look up to see one of those cute officers standing at my open window. “Are you bored?” he asked, looking a bit incredulous that I was reading. I gave him a sheepish smile and replied, “Well, I have a hard time sitting still without doing something.” (which is also very true). He chuckled, nodded courteously, gave me my ticket, and sent me on my way.

The point of this story is either we avid readers/authors are nuts (which we already knew, lol) or we should never waste a moment that could be used to read (or write) a story. I hope your 2026 is filled with ample reading time!

READERS ARE STILL LOVING DJ AND ROY

"Raw, amazing, and psychologically dynamic" "Hill keeps to her usual high writing standard" "The BDSM Master/sub dynamic wasn’t sensationalized; it was tender, stabilizing, and deeply necessary." Thank you to so many of you for taking the time to share your reactions to Naughty Dreams at Amazon, Bookbub and other groups! 🥰 If you haven't read it yet, when you do, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as these readers have.

Universal Link * Amazon * iBooks * Kobo * Google * Nook

🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

SO WHAT’S THE NEXT BOOK? While Bastion, the Dom admin from the Mistresses of the Board Room series, seems to be at the top of the list (and appears it will be a menage story – please give me tranquilizers NOW), the muse hasn’t given me a definite thumbs up. Instead, I’m getting the message I received around the same time last year: “Joey, for the next several months, it’s all marketing, marketing, marketing.” So I’ll keep you posted.

Up until 2-3 years ago, the muse was always VERY obvious about the next book. I’m a control freak (shocker, right?) so the quiet unsettles me. In my head, I do the hamster wheel thing and try to control the narrative, saying “Well, if the muse does this, I’ll go this way, and if she does that, I’ll pivot…etc.” However, while it’s taken decades (and I still stumble over it), I’m finally starting to accept that life will unfold as it’s meant to do.

When I shared this on social media shortly after the release of Naughty Dreams, my readers were as supportive and wonderful as you all always are. Thank you for that. While the muse may be the primary driver for an author's creative inspiration, the love and encouragement of our readers are the passengers that make that challenging journey far easier.

ANNUAL CHARITY GIVEAWAY!

As always for my annual charity giveaway, my spirits were lifted by hearing about the charities my readers support. In addition to the well-known ones, like Ronald McDonald House, the Salvation Army and K9s for Warriors (woof! woof! woof!) I learned more about some local efforts that work just as hard to make a difference and ease suffering.

Like HouseN2Home in Ann Arbor, MI.  They work with agencies helping the unhoused and use donations of furniture and home goods to furnish apartments for people coming out of homelessness. To date, they have furnished over 1800 homes for 3900 people!  This reader noted that when she and her family sold their long-time house to move to a condo, they donated a lot of the surplus household goods and furniture to them. At our house I keep a Salvation Army/Goodwill thrift store box going for the items that I've enjoyed but am now ready to offer someone else, and it always feels good to know they have been rehomed rather than trashed.

Then there was my randomly chosen WINNER, the reader who sent in Team Rubicon as her charity choice. They are a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves communities experiencing disasters and crises. The reader who submitted that had personal experience with the group. She said in February 2023, when the San Bernadino Mountains were hit by an unprecedented snow storm, their home was buried behind 12-16 feet of snow! Her husband is a disabled senior veteran, and the Team came and completely shoveled them out. She said, "With my limited mobility and my husband's disabilities, it would have been a month before we were able to dig ourselves out. Team Rubicon was incredibly kind and helpful to us and others here in San Bernardino Mountains. We were and are so thankful."

I'll be sending my $100 donation to Team Rubicon, but I thank you all for your generous and kind hearts. May that spirit of giving prevail wherever it's needed in the coming year!

📚📚📚

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS!

THANK YOU ALL for continuing to spread the love of my work to fellow readers, through reviews and discussions with friends, family, bookclubs, on social media platforms and more. It's the best kind of marketing an author can have, and ALWAYS appreciated. Side note: If you have a BookTok or Instagram presence, I'm trying to get more exposure on those platforms, so I am delighted if you feel inspired to help with that. I wish you all an amazing 2026! Let's check out this month's 📚📚📚 FOUR FEATURED EBOOKS!📚📚📚

---